Details emerge about burned body found on secluded Brookhaven street

BROOKHAVEN, Mississippi -- Lincoln County officials say a McComb man whose burned body was found on a secluded Brookhaven street on Oct. 30 was shot at least twice.

Lincoln County Deputy Coroner John Riggs tells the Enterprise-Journal that 28-year-old Cornelius D. Porter died of multiple gunshot wounds, including one to the head and one to the chest.

"He may have been shot more than twice, but that's the minimum number I can verify," Riggs said.

Authorities confirmed the remains as belonging to Porter on Nov. 6 after an autopsy.

Brookhaven Chief of Police Bobby Bell said investigators determined Porter was shot at a location in the city then brought to the area where his corpse was burned. Bell would not say where Porter was shot.

Six people have been arrested in connection with Porter's death.

On Nov. 19, deputies in Concordia Parish, La., arrested Jerry Tashodd Doss, 35, after finding his abandoned vehicle and tracing him to a house in Ridgecrest, La.

While there, deputies found narcotics and arrested Tabitha Harris, 27, Johnnie Butts, 21, and Jacqueline Spead, 55, all of Ridgecrest.

Bell said Harris is Doss' sister and Spead is Doss' mother. He also said he believes Butts is Doss' girlfriend.

The three women each face charges of accessory after the fact to murder, possession of a controlled substance, obstruction of justice and child endangerment. They remain in the Concordia Parish jail. Bonds were set at $125,000 each.

Doss was extradited to Lincoln County and booked on a charge of murder. On Tuesday, he was transferred to the Pike County jail to limit his contact with another suspect charged in the case, Bell said.

Karal Sham Lyons, 26, was arrested and charged with murder on Nov. 7 and remains in the Lincoln County jail without bond.

Mashonna Shanta Dunnigan, 35, was arrested and charged as an accessory on Nov. 5. She was released from the Lincoln County jail after posting $20,000 bond.